Health Information Technology (HIT) is a technique utilized in healthcare to store, retrieve, and send information. HIT ensures a secure exchange of information between consumers and service providers in healthcare settings. In the modern world, its use has vastly increased. The use of HIT has diversified, particularly with the utility of electronic health records (EHRs), which plays a vital role in ensuring that quality is provided at healthcare units. The integration of IT into the health sector in the US is attributed to the Office of National Coordinator (ONC), which was created by President George W. Bush, back in 2004 (Lukaszewski, 2017) . Thus, herein, the paper will cover the impacts that HIT has had on the health sector.
The major purpose of HIT is to ensure the provision of quality patient care. In this case, HIT has enhanced record-keeping of patients' data to improve service delivery. This has enhanced the analysis of patients' data by health service providers and also for government bodies. However, computers, mobile phones, and other electronic gadgets are the IT devices that have enhanced the analysis of this information. As a result, this data is used to implement various policies that will aim at improving the treatment of patients and also in the prevention of certain prevalent diseases (Neiman, 2017) . Thus, HIT works to the advantage of both a patient and the health sector.
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According to Buntin et al. (2011), HIT has resulted in the innovation of new equipment that aids in improving patient care. For instance, the medical-supported tool which is meant to reduce unnecessary red blood cell transfusion. This has led to the saving of more lives, which were initially lost due to red blood cell transfusions. The equipment has also resulted in a decline in transfusion costs as it guarantees quality and cheap blood transfusion services. This enables patients with low financial backgrounds to be able to access transfusion services, thus reducing mortality due to the inability to raise transfusion charges.
Human errors have significantly reduced as a result of HIT. According to Atarodi (2019), human errors have usually been a cause of approximately 12,000 patients every year. In most cases, significant human errors occur in surgical operations. These are fatal errors as they instantly result in a patient's death. In this case, when doctors are undertaking operations, they usually have the internet where they can refer to acquire the correct procedure when they are not sure of something. As a result, it has led to an increased probability of doctors coming out of operation rooms with a 100% success in their procedures.
Nevertheless, HIT has led to the growth of telemedicine technology. This technology makes use of telecommunication and is essential in the remote diagnosis and medication of patients. It is beneficial since it has resulted in reduced costs of patients having to visit a healthcare unit for them to receive medical services. With telemedicine, a patient can keep in touch with a doctor. A doctor will be able to give prescriptions and monitor a patient's growth without visiting the hospital (Atarodi, 2019). As a result, telemedicine has led to reduced queues in hospitals, thus easing pressure on service providers. Also, it is advantageous to patients as they will only visit the hospital when there is a need to, thus, saving on transport costs.
On the other hand, improvement in health care quality has resulted in reduced preventable medical errors, which usually have consequences. For instance, patients filing personal lawsuits against a healthcare unit. This may arise as a result of wrong drug prescriptions. However, with HIT, pharmacists can counter-check whether drugs that have been prescribed to a patient are correct or not (Neiman, 2017) . The use of the internet has enhanced this; thus, making sure that patients are given the right drugs. In this case, a hospital will be able to avoid lawsuits that may have arisen as a result of improper prescriptions.
Furthermore, the use of HIT has improved healthcare quality, delivered through the provision of accurate patient records. It has also enabled doctors to understand the patients' medical history clearly. Through a clear medical history, doctors will be able to provide more accurate treatments that will prevent over-prescription, which can be a danger to a patient's health. Thus, without any medical history, doctors would have been forced to rely on a patient's memory. At times, a patient might be seriously ill, hence, having difficulties in remembering his/her past situation (Neiman, 2017) . This could end up in inaccurate information due to forgetfulness and also the complexities in drug names.
Moreover, HIT has promoted patient-centeredness. This is a situation whereby healthcare units have online forums through which communication regarding patients are made. This has promoted the active participation of healthcare providers in ensuring patient quality is adhered to. Also, it has developed a platform through which complaints regarding patient services can be made, thus allowing an institution to identify the source of a problem in healthcare (Lukaszewski, 2017) . As a result, it leads to an assurance of patient care, which results in trust among patients, thus promoting patient-centered care. Therefore, it is advantageous to both the patient and the health provider because the health provider will gain more clients due to trust in their patients.
Conclusively, in the modern world, the provision of health services has been based on IT. However, it is evident that HIT has resulted in improved patient services, reduced human errors, savings on cost, and the promotion of patient-centered care, leading to improvements in services offered at healthcare facilities. Therefore, we must acknowledge the impacts that HIT has brought in the health industry and, hence, make HIT services better.
References
Buntin, M. B., Burke, M. F., Hoaglin, M. C., & Blumenthal, D. (2011, March). The Benefits Of Health Information Technology: A Review Of The Recent Literature Shows Predominantly Positive Results. HEALTH AFFAIRS, 30 . Retrieved from https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0178
Lukaszewski, M. (2017, November 1). A history of health information technology and the future of interoperability . Retrieved from BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS: https://bulletin.facs.org/2017/11/a-history-of-health-information-technology-and-the-future-of-interoperability/
Neiman, J. (2017, July 6). The Importance of Health Information Technology in Developing Areas . Retrieved from OpenMRS: https://openmrs.org/2017/07/the-importance-of-health-information-technology-in-developing-areas/
Atarodi, A., & Atarodi, A. (2019). The impact of information technology on health. Journal of Research and Health , 9 (3), 193-194.
